No call yet on whether Three Waters HQ will be in Northland or Auckland

Whangārei District Council's wastewater treatment plant - one of Northland's ratepayer-funded Three Waters assets. Photo / Micheal Cunningham

Three Waters architects say it is too soon to identify where the head office for the government’s planned new Northland and Auckland water services entity will be.

The government is going ahead with work to shift Far North District Council (FNDC), Kaipara District Council, Whangārei District Council and Auckland Council-owned Watercare’s Three Waters assets into the new top-of-New Zealand inter-regional Three Waters organisation called Entity A.

Councils which participate in the reforms will no longer control Three Waters assets for their regions. The restructure will see the entity take over that responsibility for their currently council-owned drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The future of Northland’s more than $1.76 billion in intergenerationally ratepayer-funded Three Waters infrastructure assets servicing 200,000 Northlanders is at stake.

Three Waters national transition chief executive Heather Shotter said it was too soon to say if Entity A’s head office would be in Northland or Auckland.

“The location of the head offices for the four water services entities is a matter that is currently under consideration by the national transition unit and is yet to be determined,” Shotter said.

She said the national transition unit was working to set up establishment entities that would in turn become the water services entities A, B, C and D across New Zealand from July 1 2024. Their “head offices and other business locations” would be established “well before then”.

Shotter said the number of people working for Entity A’s head office would be addressed by the middle of next year when detailed organisational design was expected.

“The priority will be ensuring appropriate people are employed in the range of roles required to meet the reform’s objectives of ensuring affordable and sustainable drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services,” Shotter said.

Entity A staff servicing Northland would be based at its head office and elsewhere. Central functions such as senior management and core IT capability would be based at the head office, but some entity staff would potentially be working from other locations including a central hub, satellite office or home.

“There will be some roles that can work effectively from anywhere ... and we expect the water services entities’ policies and practices to support flexible working,” Shotter said.

She said the overall number of people directly employed in Three Waters services would be similar or slightly less than would be the case without the Three Waters reform.

Increased investment in Three Waters asset maintenance and replacement would create up to 210 full time equivalent jobs across Northland’s wider economy over the next 30 years. There would be more boosts on the ground in local communities, with more staff working to maintain and improve services, she said.

Northland council employees other than senior managers and who primarily delivered or supported water services would be guaranteed a role with the region’s new water services entity under legislated job guarantee.

Any location change for staff covered by the legislated job guarantee would need to be in substantially the same locality and within a reasonable commuting distance, she said.